Vita's Tip in 10: An Inspiring Lesson in Leadership

Hello, hello friend, and welcome to today's episode of Vita’s Tip in 10! If you're listening in real time, and I hope that you are my loyal listener, then you know that we are about to head into a long weekend because of the Fourth of July, the Independence Day holiday that we celebrate here in the United States.  

I came across something in my email a few days ago that I thought would be incredibly fitting to share with you today, as we head into this holiday weekend. It was a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, and yes, I realize his is a whole different era and a whole different battle and situation, and not related to the war for independence.  

And yet, the lesson in leadership still stands. I read this quote in the Morning Brew newsletter that I happen to read every day, which I have shared with you before. The date of the email was June 6, which happens to be the anniversary of D-Day. The day before the invasion of Normandy, General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a famous speech in which he told the troops, “The eyes of the world are upon you.”  

Less known is an alternate speech Eisenhower wrote in case the invasion was unsuccessful in what would later become one of the world's most coveted pieces of scrap paper. The general wrote, “My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.”  

Wow, I don't know about you guys, but every time I read this quote, and I have done so many times, I get goosebumps. What this quote makes me think about is leadership, courage, and doing the right thing, no matter how hard, while standing in our integrity. Oddly enough, it also makes me think about entrepreneurship, even though I'm sure Eisenhower had no such connotations in mind. 

The reason that I think about entrepreneurship when I read this is because what he said and what he meant applies just as equally to what you and I stand for, on an everyday basis. It also makes me think about the responsibility that we as entrepreneurs have. If you're a solopreneur you are responsible for the quality of the product that you deliver. You are responsible for your own livelihood. You may be responsible for several 1099 contractors. If you are an entrepreneur with a team, then in addition to all the above, you are also responsible to your team and for your team. Even when something goes wrong, especially when something goes wrong, you are the one to take the blame. You are the one to take the financial hit.  In LuAnn's words, we are the chief problem officers in our businesses.  The buck stops with us.  And it is an enormous burden to carry.  Every day.  It is what keeps us awake at night. 

I want you to think about this Eisenhower quote, and what it means to you. Give yourself that pat on the back, and that recognition that we hardly ever give ourselves. And know that everything you do is founded and steeped in courage, because that's what you are, as an entrepreneur, as someone who holds the fate of many people and many projects in your own hands. You are a courageous person by definition, and it is not often that we stop and celebrate our own contributions and accomplishments.  

And often when we do, it is because we got a large sale, or we got a coveted project, or we achieved a tangible goal, like ‘we made the month’. It is hardly ever that we celebrate ourselves as courageous leaders who stand in our integrity and who do the right thing no matter what. Even if that right thing means taking the blame for somebody else, or for something else, that may or may not have been in your control. 

I commend each and every one of you. I applaud everything that you're doing in your life and your business, and I am rooting for you, my friend, to continue mustering up the strength and the energy and the desire to keep standing in that space. Because we need you, the world needs you, and surely the window treatment industry needs you. And with that, I wish you a wonderful Independence Day weekend.  

And in the meantime, I will be working on my next episode of Vita’s Tip in 10 – after enjoying some time to rest and recharge, of course. See you next Thursday!